Wednesday, February 15, 2023

"Necessary" Requires Some Level of Competence

As you are likely aware, I don't buy the current volume of X-Force. I do, however, see scans of it online here and there, and read Paul O'Brien's reviews. The book comes off as odd in the context of certain quotes I've seen from the writer, Benjamin Percy.

Percy has made a point, more than once from what I can tell, that X-Force in general, and the character of Beast in particular, is about examining the messy things people do in the name of nation-building. The underhanded, unfriendly-regime-toppling shit the CIA got up to. And so he states that Hank McCoy believes himself to be a, 'necessary bastard.' 

Hank feels he has to do stuff like turn an entire country into zombies so they don't produce drugs that can compete with Krakoan products. Or have the Five resurrect Wolverine as a nearly mindless weapon Hank can use to assassinate Senators.

The problem with this is that, while Percy's version of Beast has the "bastard" part down cold, he's fucking up on the "necessary" side of things. None of Hank's schemes seem to work out well. The zombification of an entire nation nearly backfires at their first stupid Hellfire Gala, and it's only the people he victimized being unbelievably understanding that keeps it from being a huge embarrassment.

His Wolverine puppet is so brain-dead it doesn't wait for Hank to turn off the security cameras, so Logan is caught on video murdering the Senator. His secret outer space prison where he conducts illegal experiments falls apart and he ends up imprisoned for a time. The dude fucks up everything he attempts.

Now, if the point Percy's driving at is a nation does not, in fact, require "necessary bastards", he might almost be pulling it off, considering Hank's Sideshow Bob-esque ability to step on every rake in the world, has yet to actually damage Krakoa's standing or safety in any demonstrable way*. If that were Percy's goal, it would seem like someone needs to actually, you know, remove Hank from a position to cause problems. Tell him Krakoa has moved beyond such tactics, or whatever mutant supremacist nonsense they're spouting these days.

But outside of Emma or Sage giving him the occasional talking to, Hank's received no censure whatsoever. Has not lost his official position, not been condemned to the Pit. X-Force still go on the missions he gives them, even though it should be abundantly obvious this is a terrible idea. Hank's written like when DC fucks up Amanda Waller and just make her cartoonishly evil and incompetent.

On the other hand, if Percy thinks nations do need "necessary bastards", whether because they want to build/maintain an empire, or simply feel outnumbered and besieged from all sides (either of which you could apply to Krakoa), then shouldn't some of Hank's plans actually work? Shouldn't we be seeing more evidence of him actually nipping a real threat in the bud, rather than create potential public relation time bombs the rest of the cast have to scramble to defuse?

If Percy wants to question the ultimate utility of even those successes - make it that Hank's turned himself into a monster for the equivalent of sticking fingers in a leaky dam - make them only temporary wins, or have unexpected effects. Some people in the zombified nation show natural or developed resistance, and this helps them make even better drugs. Or it turns out another nation was on the same track, several of them even, and Hank can't turn them all. Wolverine isn't caught on camera killing Senators, but it doesn't matter, as their successors run on the same platform and gets elected because, surprise!, killing a politician did not alter the demographics or beliefs of his electoral district.

The current approach seems like the worst of all worlds. Hank fails all the time, so he certainly doesn't demonstrate the necessity of his actions. Especially as Krakoa seems to be just fine no matter how badly he fails. But his ineptitude produces no negative consequences for him either, even though there are certainly enough people who know about his shit with the power to get him removed, and at this point, I can't see Hank having anyone in his corner to save his job, so the fact they haven't ousted him in favor of Sage (alcoholic or no), or hell, Gambit or Lady Mastermind or someone, just seems ridiculous.

* Although you could argue that's because the Quiet Council figuring they could let Mr. Sinister help clone them and there'd be no problems blew up first.

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